Indicator Problem

[Bradleyrayner]

HI there i brought some LED indicators for my bike. Just recieved them in the post and have tried fitting them today. When all of them were installed i then tested them to see if they worked properly. As soon as i try to turn one side of the indicators on all of them come on. Plus when they are on i can not get them to flash they just stay static.
Can anyone please help because i have no idea why this is happening.
Thank You for looking.

[TB-Racing]

you might have to swap the flasher relay (indicator relay) as well to work with the LED indicators.... hate bloody electrics....

[Bradleyrayner]

Thanks for replying to me mate. How do you change the flash relay if i might ask. I do not have an idea and the electrics on the bike are so fiddly it takes ages to sort something.

[ShuBen]

LED lights need a resistor/controller. As i know they cant be connect directly to the power lines of standard light bulb turn signals. Or does indicators have these resistors built in?
Someone with good electrical understanding please correct if i am wrong.

[bikerdoc]

Exactly as ShuBen has advised. Most often LED flashers need a resistor installed somewhere along the circuit (in-line resistor) to effectively modulate the current, else the LED act in various ways either flashing too fast (which is the most common complaint) or as you have found, don't flash at all. If you are not comfortable fitting a resistor then head to a automotive electrician, who would be able to fit exactly what you'd need and for not much money. If you try to do this yourself, then you will find that resistors have different ratings (ohms) and therefore would need to experiment a little to work out what you need. A way to overcome this problem is to find variable resistor (potentiometer) in combination with a dimming light switch (like what one can find inside buildings) rigged up to your bike. With this set-up fitted, once you get indicators flashing at the desired rate check the resistance across the circuit using a multimeter and "bingo" you have the nominal resistance for the desired flash rate.

Some LED indicators have resistors built in on the PCB within the indicator housing as ShuBen has advised, though based on your findings it is highly unlikely to be the case with the ones you have bought unless the resistors are the wrong rating for your bikes electrical system.

[bikerdoc]

you might be able to find help or what you are looking for on www.superbrightleds.com

[Krasi]

Exactly as ShuBen has advised. Most often LED flashers need a resistor installed somewhere along the circuit (in-line resistor) to effectively modulate the current, else the LED act in various ways either flashing too fast (which is the most common complaint) or as you have found, don't flash at all. If you are not comfortable fitting a resistor then head to a automotive electrician, who would be able to fit exactly what you'd need and for not much money. If you try to do this yourself, then you will find that resistors have different ratings (ohms) and therefore would need to experiment a little to work out what you need. A way to overcome this problem is to find variable resistor (potentiometer) in combination with a dimming light switch (like what one can find inside buildings) rigged up to your bike. With this set-up fitted, once you get indicators flashing at the desired rate check the resistance across the circuit using a multimeter and "bingo" you have the nominal resistance for the desired flash rate.

Some LED indicators have resistors built in on the PCB within the indicator housing as ShuBen has advised, though based on your findings it is highly unlikely to be the case with the ones you have bought unless the resistors are the wrong rating for your bikes electrical system.

And power dissipation of the resistors is also quite important for this kind circuits, operating at 12V.